Rockies reliever Nick Masset auditioned in Tampa, Fla., for a return to the major leagues.

DENVER, CO - MAY 21: Relief pitcher Nick Masset #37 of the Colorado Rockies delivers to home plate during the sixth inning against the San Francisco Giants at Coors Field on May 21, 2014 in Denver, Colorado. The Giants defeated the Rockies 5-1.

Life is easy. That’s what Nick Masset used to think in 2012. He had a baby daughter, a multimillion-dollar contract, a loving wife and a fastball in the mid-90s and was building on a six-year major-league career.

Life is unfair. That’s what Masset lapsed into believing in his lowest moments, when first a sore shoulder and then a rare nerve disorder kept him from doing for two years what had always come so easily before.

Life is beautiful. It is the attitude Masset projected from his locker stall inside the Rockies’ clubhouse last week. He has learned much more about himself through the highs and lows of the past few years and thinks he has now found a happy medium.

“It’s not that I wasn’t appreciative before, but I appreciate where I am, in the big leagues, more now than I ever have,” Masset said. “After what happened, I just feel so blessed.”

What happened to Masset, 32, wasn’t all that unusual for a pitcher: In 2012, in spring training with the Cincinnati Reds and soon after signing a two-year, $5.5 million contract, he suffered arm and shoulder injuries. It was his road back, and the succession of obstacles he overcame, that was unusual. After what he thought would be a normal recuperation period following surgery on his right shoulder that caused him to miss the entire season, Masset was still feeling pain the following spring.

Not only did he still have pain in the shoulder, Masset felt tingling sensations in his right hand. He consulted with the orthopedic surgeon of the Tampa Bay Rays, Dr. Koco Eaton, who diagnosed Masset with thoracic outlet syndrome, a rare disorder in which nerves in the area between the collarbone and the first rib become compressed.

Masset underwent surgery to correct the thoracic outlet syndrome, a process in which Masset’s top rib and two muscles from his neck were removed to create a freer pipeline between nerves and blood vessels. Another year of recuperation would be required, during which Masset developed a dangerous staph infection, further setting him back.

“There were many times I thought I’d never pitch again,” Masset said. “I was pretty tough to deal with. My wife (Jennah), she definitely took a bunch of my nonsense, my smiles and my cries, my ups and downs. But she was my rock. She helped me persevere.”

In the process, Jennah Masset said, they both learned a lot about each other.

“It wasn’t easy. I think it forced both of us to re-examine a lot of things and made us both come to grips that he might not be throwing a baseball anymore in the major leagues,” said Jennah, a native of Stockton, Calif., who met Nick 11 years ago over a game of horseshoes at their apartment complex, when he was starting out in the minors. “But one thing about Nick is he’s a very stubborn and determined guy, and he had his mind set on returning. When he has his mind set on something, he does it.”

The surgery worked. The 6-foot-5, 235-pound Masset could feel a baseball again. There was no pain in the shoulder. But after not throwing for nearly three years, would his fastball, which regularly hit the mid-90s before the injury, still be there?

The Rockies wanted to find out. They were one of about 15 teams with scouts in Tampa, Fla., where the Massets live, when he pitched a bullpen session this past winter. Masset hit the mid-80s in velocity, showed good command and, more important, felt no discomfort. The Rockies signed him. After 7 innings of scoreless ball in Triple-A, the Rockies called him up May 5. He has pitched well since, compiling a 1-0 record with a 1.08 ERA in 8 innings. His fastball is back in the mid-90s.

“This was a steal, being able to pick up a guy like Nick,” Rockies manager Walt Weiss said. “You see his velocity jumping up there to where it was before he got hurt, and he brings a lot of experience and composure to our team.”

Said Rockies pitching coach Jim Wright: “He’s been tested through the fire. He’s still very effective, still has plenty of stuff. It’s like we caught lightning in a bottle getting him. He really has added a lot to our bullpen, not just with his stuff but how he’s been able to relate to some of the younger guys. He’s a guy they can go to with their own ups and downs and learn a lot from.”

If he’d never been able to pitch again in the big leagues, Masset said he would have devoted himself full time to a construction company he co-owns, Roker Construction.

But he’s happy having to put off building houses full time, thank you very much, and hopes it’s only a side gig for years to come.

“I’m going to pitch until this arm rusts off,” Masset said with a big grin.

Long road to follow

Rockies pitcher Nick Masset signed with Cincinnati in 2012 but never pitched an inning for the Reds after that because of shoulder pain, caused by a rare nerve disorder. Some of the mile markers in his two-year road back:

2012: Misses all of 2012 after surgery on his right shoulder.

2013: In spring training, Masset feels pain in his shoulder. He is diagnosed with thoracic outlet syndrome, a rare condition in which nerves are compressed between the collarbone and top rib. He undergoes surgery, which requires the removal of a rib and two muscles in his neck. He later develops a staph infection.

2014: Masset pitches in front of scouts in the winter near his home in Tampa, Fla. The Rockies sign him to a contract, and he starts the season in Triple-A.

May 5: Masset is called up by the Rockies. He is 1-0 with a 1.08 ERA in 8 innings.

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